DixPix Photographs

SOUTH CORDILLERA

This page treats some of the general aspects of Chile's long and wild Pacific coast, and specifically presents a few photos from the icy fjord zone in the south up to the start of the Atacama Desert.

Starting at the southern tip, a view out over the Straits of Magellan (Estrecho de Magallanes) from near Punta Arenas. Also the 4 masted barqetine Esmeralda, training ship for the Chilean Navy, as it appeared in 1966 before being used as a floating torture center following the coup of 1973.

Although a few tourist and other ships ply the south coast of Chile, there is really no road to the coast until much farther north at Puerto Chacabuco near Puerto Aisen.

An Island in the Gulf of Corcovado (Golfo de Corcovado), which separates the mainland from the southern part of the Island of Chiloe.

And a scene from the Gulf of Ancud (Golfo de Ancud), between the mainland and the northern part of Chiloe.

The stormy and remote southwest corner of Chiloe is an area seldom visited. This is from near Punta Peligrosa.

And in the same area, the mouth of the Rio Zorro.

At the north end of Chiloe island, various ferries take cars and passengers from the mainland at the town of Pargua.

At a similar latitude on the mainland, sunset over Caleta el Manzano near the village of Hornopiren.

Looking down Estuario de Reloncavi, Chile's most northernly fjord, located southeast of Puerto Montt.

And finally the city of Puerto Montt, which stands between the fjord zone and the Lake District of Chile. This coastal scene is at the end of one of its frequent showers.

Continuing north, the next dependable road to the coast is from the city of Osorno to Bahia Mansa. The name translates as "gentle cove" but it is a rocky and unwelcoming shoreline.

The city of Valdivia is only about 10 km.in from the sea. This is a scene typical of the coast to the south, beyond the town of Corral.

South of Puerto Saavedra, the beach berm built up by the waves imprisons Lago Budi near Punta Puaucho.

South of the mill town of Constitucion, there are some unusual sea stacks.

This one has a window wave-excavated right through it.

The picturesque village of Pichilemu is the "surfing capital" of Chile.

Although youngsters seem to be able to find a suitable wave just about anywhere that the surf isn't dangerous.

Bucalemu, south of Pichilemu, was a sleeping fishing hamlet until recently. Then somebody paved the access road-- now it is a mob scene.

We have come to the central part of the Chilean Coast, where cities such as Valparaiso and Viña del Mar are joined to Santiago by high speed highways. The result is mob scenes in season.

And with the mobs, come great wads of beach garbage.

And where there is garbage, there are clouds of seagulls.

Increasingly condos and restaurants are being stacked along the coastline, but there are also some very tasteful homes, such as this one which belonged to nobel laureate poet Pablo Neruda. It was closed to the public by the Military Government when this photo was taken.

Heading farther north, the climate and the vegetation become semi-arid, entering the realm of the Atacama Coast, which will be treated under a separate page.

Despite Chile's long coastline, there are few natural harbors north of the southern fjords. And on this open coast, waves can be big and deadly.

This limits the areas suitable for many water sports, especially for families. When the sea is up, it can be fearsome, making many beaches more suited to tanning and tanga watching.

Makeshift breakwaters like this have been thrown up in a few places, but these problems explain the popularity of lakes and rivers for family outings.

Which isn't to say that there aren't places and times when conditions are perfect for everything from scuba to wind surfing.

But some of those places aren't very environmentally attractive, here near Coquimbo, protection is afforded by a giant iron ore loading dock.

And there are worst things than storm waves. Chile is a land of many earthquakes (tremblores). This is an aftershock to a 1975 quake in Coquimbo.

And sometimes these cause a tsunami (maremoto). Most coastal cities were historically built well above their reach. Iquique, however, is trapped between the coast and a giant sand dune, and has been hit twice.

This is the ruins of the old Bolivian Port of Cobija (before the Pacific War), which was destroyed by a tsunami and never rebuilt.

But now, with history conveniently forgotten, beach condominiums are sprouting like mushrooms along the Chilean coast. It is only a matter of time.

Time ran out for the south coast of Chile at 3:34 AM on the 27th of February, 2010; and the tsunami warning system largely failed. The central and Atacaman coasts still await their hour.